Jonah Hill Offers ’21 Jump Street’ Update, Johnny Depp Cameo

Rumors of a 21 Jump Street movie have been flying around the internet for over a year now, and we’re all looking for some concrete answers. All we know at the moment is Jonah Hill is starring, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) are directing, and it’s going to be a blend of action and comedy. But where does Johnny Depp fit in, you ask? Well Screen Junkies caught up with Jonah today at the press junket for Get Him to the Greek where we forced him through uncomfortable staring to answer this burning question and more:

We just got a new draft we finished but we’re going to work on it right up until we go.

MORE ABOUT DEPP AFTER THE JUMP.

When Johnny Depp tells the press he’d love to do a cameo, do you take it seriously?

Hell yeah, we take it seriously. It’d be great if Johnny Depp wanted to do a cameo. We wrote him a really funny one so hopefully he does it.

Was it a show you loved?

I really like 21 Jump Street. Mostly when they asked me to turn it into a movie, the thing that I connected with the most was the idea of it. It sort of had a Back to the Future element in my head where it’s getting to relive you high school years again shortly after. I thought that was really interesting. It’s almost like a time travel movie in a way, or getting to go back and re-experience a very important, significant time in your life. It was more the idea of young looking cops infiltrating a high school than me being a massive fan of the show itself.And with the authority and confidence an adult cop might have?

Well, I think the fun is that they sort of go back to high school and then immediately revert to the way they were in high school and sort of lose the swagger and confidence they’ve gained as guys in their mid-20s.

I’ve always loved the idea behind 21 Jump Street and think it’s the perfect project for adaptation. Hill has said in the past he wants it to be "a John Hughes movie with Bay Boys-style action." If they can get those two elements to mix, I’m all for it. The only thing missing in Sixteen Candles is a cocaine-fueled shootout at a techno club orgy.